On June 3, 2011the press-conference called “Kursk NPP – Results and Readiness for Summer Period Operation” was held by Kursk NPP Director Nikolay Sorokin for the regional mass media. Representatives of about 20 popular printings and Kursk region tele- and radio companies and also heads of the region Office of Information Management Committee of Information and Publications, Industry Committee of Transport and Communications and the Department of Environmental Safety and Management gathered in the Journalists’ Club of Kursk city, where the press-conference had been organized.

Head of Kursk NPP presented the press-conference participants a profound report about results of the enterprise work for five months of the current year in all activity branches and also on readiness for operating in the summer period. The most attention was paid by Nikolay Sorokin to the topic of safety.

“Safety provision for both the population and the environment is the prior task for our enterprise”, he underlined. “The improvement of nuclear, radiation and fire safety and emergency response is of permanent character. Annually sums of several million are spent for these purposes, all the necessary events, aimed at improvement of Kursk NPP equipment and systems are conducted”.

In the report it was noted that open public inspections, organized at the initiative of Rosatom State Corporation with the purpose of demonstration of a high level of modern Russian power units safety and reliability systems to the representatives of the public and mass media, had become priority of the current year. Since the year beginning 26 inspections have been conducted at Kursk NPP and 9 of them were organized in the form of public ones. The nuclear plant compliance with the projects, regulations and rules, including the system of emergency water supply, seismic resistance, readiness for accident management and fire elimination were being inspected. Conclusions of all the inspections were clear: Kursk NPP safety was guaranteed.

A number of the events preventing faults in NPP equipment at abnormally high temperatures of the outer air, fire safety, labor protection, readiness for storm season, etc. were held at the enterprise for the purposes of normal operation in summer period.

Apart from safety, the journalists were highly interested in the issue of Kursk NPP prospects. Answering their questions concerning the nuclear plant’s future, Nikolay Sorokin noted that at the field meeting of the Russian Federation State Duma Committee of Energy held on March 1 of the current year the decision to construct replacement capacities – Kursk NPP-2 on the basis of new VVER-TOI typical project was taken. By the present time Rosenergoatom Concern has formalized the Declaration of Intent to Invest into Kursk NPP-2 Construction. The Declaration draft was sent to Kursk region administration.

Kursk NPP Director also answered other questions asked by the mass media representatives. At the end of the press-conference the journalists noted the exhausting character of the information provided by the nuclear plant’s Head.